This one’s for the bloke in your life: ManLand December 2010

December. The final month of the year and summer is officially here. You beauty. And that also means November, and Movember, are over and it’s time to rid the world of those fantastic upper lip cultivations that so many of the boys have been working on.

Don’t think for a second that I don’t support the cause. I think the Movember campaign has done some wonderful things to raise both funds and awareness to help fight prostate cancer and depression in men but the feedback from a lot of women around the traps is that most of us men just can’t carry off the mo without looking like C-grade porn stars. And they’d prefer it if we didn’t bother for any longer than the 30-day charity event. For those blokes who haven’t yet scraped off the handlebar, or women who are looking to re-stock their man’s shaving supplies, I’d like to remind you about a long-standing staple of the toiletries aisle.

NIVEA FOR MEN Extra Moisture Shaving Gel $5.99

NIVEA FOR MEN Replenishing Post Shave Balm $11.14

While there are a lot of expensive top-end shaving products in the marketplace, this month I chanced upon the iconic blue and white brand – NIVEA – by way of a giveaway in an airport lounge and enjoyed possibly the best shave I’ve had this year. What I found in the NIVEA FOR MEN Extra Moisture Shaving Gel and Replenishing Post Shave Balm were shaving products that just worked exactly how I hoped they would straight away. From the first application both products were comfortable to use, provided a close neat shave and all but eliminated shaving rash.

All NIVEA FOR MEN products are available nationally from supermarkets and selected pharmacies.

Borne Naked For Men, bag inserts, $24.95

I struggle with The Stylist’s need for a complete stable of handbags. Why anyone needs that many shoulder sacks and still has me is a constant source of confusion. I know we both share the same frustration when it comes to scrabbling around a bag looking for an elusive set of car keys. For me it has been the sports bag or even worse, my very musty cricket kit bag. That was until I was asked to road test the latest addition to the Borne Naked range, a clear bag liner designed specifically to hold all of those bits and pieces like keys, wallets, phones and watches that we would otherwise shove in our pockets or juggle in our hands. And I’m a convert. The liner’s slim shape makes it easy to transfer quickly between my work bag, sports bag and suitcase. Available in three versions, the For Men from Borne Naked can be bought online at www.BorneNaked.com

Borne Naked for Men bag insert $24.95

Tips for buying for your man this Christmas

Christmas is almost here. Just seems like yesterday since I was last fighting the tree box and decorations out of the back corner of the shed. To help you out this festive season, I’m going to make it real easy for you to buy for us blokes. These are my top five suggestions:

#5 Biographies

Whether you’re man is a sport’s nut, a rev head, a muso or a politics tragic, I’m sure he too will love reading about his heroes because we all love getting the chance to go behind the scenes of the amazing lives they lead and get the inside word on what makes them tick.

#4 Boy’s toys

Don’t bag us because we still have extra-curricular interests. They make us who we are. And often that means needing, or at least wanting, the gear to help us enjoy those interests even more so, that we can return to you happier and better husbands, fathers, partners and brothers. So if he’s mentioned something in particular, and it’s within the budget, why not indulge him? He’ll love you even more for it. Promise.

#3 Fancy drinks

When in doubt, buy him a bottle of something nice. Generally speaking, most men love a drink, and we love it even more when someone buys us something a little bit fancy to put behind the bar, or on a shelf that we can visit now and then for a sneaky tipple.

#2 Vouchers

You really need to pay attention here. Gift vouchers ARE NOT LAME! They give us men the rare freedom to shop, guilt-free, for stuff just for ourselves, and with the added challenge of squeezing as much value out them as we possibly can. I, for one, am sick and tired of people who apologise as they hand you a card at present time, with a voucher nestled inside it. Don’t feel bad. A voucher isn’t boring; it’s awesome. Everybody wins. You’ve had an easy shopping mission and now we’ve license to hunt for new toys.

#1 Don’t Panic, it’s really all about you and the kids anyway

The most important piece of advice I can give you for shopping for a bloke this Christmas is that you shouldn’t over think it. If he’s any sort of a man, he’s worked out by now that giving really is much better than receiving and he’s far more excited about watching you open the gifts he’s prepared for you. Even if that gift is a personally guaranteed block of time all to yourself, free of kids, work and everything else that gets in the way {Editor’s note … I’ll be taking him up on this!}

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas.

Song of the Month

Two years after their epic second album, In Ghost Colours, Sydney-based synth-pop trio Cut Copy are back with a shiny new offering Zonoscope, which is scheduled to be released in February. The first single, Take Me Over, is bright and poppy and perfectly suited to the upcoming summer party playlists I’m working on.

*Kester Hubbard, aka Mr Styling You, divides his time between representative duties as husband, providing alternative life skill guidance to three children and working as a communications consultant in Brisbane. He’s a former sports journo so any code is never far from his mind. But underneath the sports exterior lies a man who not so secretly loves to style it up. {actually The Stylist wrote that bit so he keeps writing this monthly blog}